Web 2.0 expo

I’m on a plane to Oakland on path to attend the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco for the next three days in search for perspective on the marketplace. To date, I would say that about 50% of our client base if not more are considered prime Web 2.0 companies. The rest of our customer base is made up of companies building enterprise software, console video games, semantic web software and others.

I remember when I first heard somebody ask me to help them find a Web 2.0 company. It was somebody in Seattle and I eventually introduced him to a fast growing company called Jobster which seemed to satisfy his interpretation of Web 2.0. I remember spending time speaking with him about how he defines a Web 2.0 company and what it means t him. Interestingly enough in his mind it was less about user-generated content, social networking and advertising-driven consumer web companies and it was more about getting the chance to work with ajax and ruby and other cool Web 2.0 concepts. That was about 2 years ago and my how times have changed. Now, Web 2.0 is very clearly defined, there are entire conferences dedicated to Web 2.0, it might be large enough to be considered its own industry. Web 2.0 has become so mainstream that it’s almost become less of a type of company and more of a feature that exists in almost all progressive companies – web or not. Web 2.0 is almost the 90’s equivalent of eCommerce. Ya, there are still pure E-commerce companies around like Amazon, ebay and buy.com, but which retailer, bank, airline or any other company that is built on the transation doesn’t offer that same brick and mortar offering via their ecommerce site. It’s the same with Web 2.0. If Web 2.0 is defined by user-generated content and new information presentation concepts to include mashups, blogs, widgets and such, then it’ll really only be a matter of time before this also becomes a feature of all websites/business instead of a type of company or an industry.

Now in the same way we heard about Web 2.0 2 years ago, I am starting to hear whispers of Web 3.0 and some of the concepts included in the next version of the web evolution. To date, Web 3.0 includes concepts like semantic web, artificial intelligence, avatars, an intelligent web, and others. As a search firm that works with top candidates in the marketplace, it is our duty to keep our ear close to the ground to continuously be able to offer our base the more progressive, relevant and forward thinking opportunities in the marketplace. Because everybody wants to work for the next Google, it’s our job to find it, and help them attract the best talent to ultimately become that next great company.

I am going to the conference and will be soaking everything in to ultimately come to some sort of conclusion about where the Web 2.0 marketplace is today. Is it an actual industry or will it become commoditized into a feature? Is Web 2.0 in a bubble that investors and candidates should be weary of? Is the consumer side of Web 2.0 dead and business Web 2.0 the next big thing? Has Web 2.0 evolved to dare I say it Web 2.5 and if so how is that defined? Where does the talent want to be working – in others words, who’s hot shit these days? Is it still Google and Facebook or are there others flying below the radar. Who do companies want to hire – in other words, who’s hot shit from a candidates perspective? How does the recession in America affect all of this? Is Silicon Valley still the place to be if you want to be working in Web 2.0? And if not, then what other markets are up and coming? Lots of question left to be answered . Either way, we are in a very exciting time and I can’t wait to see what happens.

* credit for graph given to Gary Hayes